World Cup matches will be played in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Samara, Nizhni Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saransk, Sochi, Kaliningrad, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg on June 14 through July 15

MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. The 2018 World Football Cup’s total TV audience will constitute half of the world’s population, Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov said at a joint meeting of the presidential Council for Physical Culture and Sports and the observer board of the Russia-2018 Organizing Committee, devoted to the results of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and preparations for the 2018 World Football Cup finals.

"More than 2.5 million are expected to see the matches at the stadiums live. As for the overall TV audience, it will be practically as big as half of the world’s population," Kolobkov said.

"Preparations for the 2018 World Cup are in full swing. Fifteen federal ministries and agencies and 12 host cities, as well as 34 regions hosting the teams’ bases are involved in the effort. Russia’s pledges, including government guarantees given to the international football federation FIFA, are being implemented within the framework of the special federal law on the World Cup and the preparatory program for hosting the contest," Kolobkov said.

World Cup matches will be played in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Samara, Nizhni Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saransk, Sochi, Kaliningrad, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg on June 14 through July 15.